Chapter 2: R&D
12171987
"You're kidding. Eleven times?"
"Well, more depending…But some of those were more side projects than anything, I assure you. What about you though, a hedgehog of all things?"
"It's not a normal hedgehog, I assure you. The pest moves faster than any life form I've ever encountered! Though I suppose you've got it bad too, I mean, a robot made by your former colleague that can just take the weapons off the machines you send after it? Sounds almost cruel in an ironic sense."
"Eh…With how long I've waged war against him I've gotten used to it. Though I suppose if I was in your shoes I would be terrified if that Hedgehog were to rip off the weaponry of my machines and start using them as well"
"Ohohoho! Now that would certainly be a bold new direction for him!" Both doctors laughed at the proposal. The two had taken to getting to know their new comrades from across realities, the more rotund Eggman opting to cross boundaries into Wily's world, both of them seated at a table outside of their normal mechanical capsules to show they were not hostile to one another.
"Now my dear doctor, I simply have to ask." Wily perused "Given the success of our fated meeting, do you perchance feel that we may be able to surpass our adversaries like this? Yours versus my creation and mine versus yours perhaps?"
"While a tempting offer my fellow genius, something about the idea…doesn't stick with me" Eggman retorted, a few fingers idly messing with the tips of his mustache. The doctor found the idea a very potent one on paper, but something in the back of his mind told him that, though it may prove effective at first, the end result will be as it had always been for the two. "Maybe its just hesitation after my numerous attempts, but collaborations with others often…backfires, at least with my track record."
"Hmm, your tales did seem to bring up an alarming number of times that sort of thing did turn sour, but in most of those cases it was a more…otherworldly entity that did you in, was it not?" Wily countered, having heard tales of Eggman's woes with the water like lifeform Chaos, the ally turned enemy turn ally once more and back to enemy after all was over in Shadow, and most recently the highly advanced lifeforms from the Starfall Islands.
"Well, usually…Though what about you? You seem to be able to keep a hold of things more often than not but you've occasionally had things slip out of your control, like that brief stint with the shield carrying machine, what was his name…? King?"
"I assure you that was all according to plan!" Wily retorted, grumbling under his breath slightly about that little mishap, one that he'd prefer be forgotten. "Though the Stardroids I can't take credit for…They were much more advanced than I had anticipated."
"Fair…Hmmm, Sage, what do you propose?" Eggman asked, turning his head back to the gateway that connected his world with Wilys, his AI soon responding. "My calculations estimate a higher than average chance of victory through cooperation, Doctor. However, the odds of success also increase under the potential addition of yet more allies."
"So you feel if we can start opening more gateways we could maybe find more allies to up the odds? I like that…Yes, I like that a lot" Eggman mused, hand to his chin as Wily folded his arms, lost in thought. "Thank you Father" Sage replied, happy to be of assistance.
"She calls you Father?" Wily asked, an eyebrow raised. Though he knew Light considered Mega Man and Roll as his children in some sense, he was caught a bit off guard to see his new comrade had something similar. Eggman turned his attention back to his associate and nodded.
"I've made countless robots and creations over the years, but Sage is…different. She feels more like her own thing than just another Pawn I'm throwing at Sonic and his friends…Do you have any creations that you feel that way toward?"
"Hrm…The closest I could say is Bass, but that lousy bot barely listens to me! Half the time he runs off on his own trying to destroy Mega Man, and takes his dog Treble with him! Though I was working on a new robot…But he'll have to wait I think, at least for now."
"Perhaps that Bass of yours can be of some use for our plans, but no matter. I think we both are in agreement at least that finding more allies could certainly benefit, no?" Eggman grins seeing Wily nod his head in agreement. "Excellent! Now I believe it is the time for our geniuses to come together. Wily my friend, let us forge a new path to worlds yet undiscovered!" He proclaimed, reaching out his hand to the doctor, who took it in his own and shook
"To our future triumphs over our mortal nemeses! Now, let's see who else we can find that is ready and able to join our cause." The two nodded their heads in agreement and stood up, as Eggman headed back across the gateway to his home dimension, intent to gather supplies before their joint operation.
"Are you sure you trust him, Father?" Eggman could hear Sage ask him quietly, keeping her voice down so as to not alert Wily to the question. "For now, yes. I believe we both have similar interests, Sage, but don't worry. I'm prepared for if this new partnership starts to crumble, we'll be fine. Besides, you are the one that's always saying I could use more allies."
"That is true…Just be careful please."
"...I will, my daughter." He replied, grabbing an array of tools and calling upon some of his Egg Pawns to follow him across the gateway.
Hours Later…
"Finally, it is done!" Wily announced, lifting the welding mask up from his face. The two's hard work had proven successful, as with their combined efforts, they had produced a new gate. Half Eggman, Half Wily, all in the name of science. The gateway was perfectly split in half, with Eggman's insignia marking the left side while Wily's W insignia marked the right side. Eggman stood up from his position welding the back of his anchor of the device, passing by his robots before standing beside Wily, admiring their work.
"It's glorious Wily, but now comes the big test. Time to see where this one will lead us, and who we can find with it."
"Agreed, time to test it! Neo Conduit, show us new worlds!" Wily announced, but not before the two of them immediately huddled behind a blast-proof glass wall…Just in case. Raising up the device to activate the Conduit, both doctors jointly pressing the button to start up the device.
R̶̨̡̜̝͈̖͎̥̱͚̮̙̦̭̣͎̽̒̈́̌͆̿͒͑̽̚͝R̴̡̙̦͉͖̮̰̖̦̳͔̗̣̗͍̩̗̘̲͓͇̀̿̓̉̆R̴͕̍̒̍̿̈́͊̏̈̀̀̚͘R̷̢̨̨̧̡̛̠̩̖̺̱̲͍̘̠̝̬̱̬̲̼͍͕̳̳̎̆̽̂͋̂̆̀̾̓͒͛̄̓͂̽͛̓͂̈́̇̕Ŗ̸̢̛̮̙̯̥̪̬̹̗̙̜͇̔̀̈̿͊̾̓̆͑̑̇͘͝ͅŖ̸̨̨̣̱͕̙̖̯̱͓̦̰̥͋̏̽͑̑͒̊͐̓̆̽̒̾̉̕͘͝͝R̸̡͔̺̗̦̝͎͔͔̝̗͚͓̻͌̾̀́̏̾Ŗ̸̖̗̹̙͍͈̭̼̰͕͓̻͈̲̠̪̠̫̯̆̀̈́̿͋͂̀̽̏͐̓̉̈́̾̄̄͌̃͑̕͝͝͝ͅͅR̸̡̟̜̰͎̰̩̳̮͍̖͇̦͚̮̍͒̌̊͆͌͐̽̀̋͜͜R̶͙̗̝̔͆̓̉ͅĮ̸̧̡̛͉̩̩̖̪̘̼̹͖̣̻̭̫̳̩͉͇̱̟͗͊͑̇̍̍͂̐̅́͑͗̎̋̊̈̅͗̀͜͝͝͝͝ͅỊ̶̪̣̳̫̯̯̙̖̲̌̌̅̇͝Ị̴̛̤̩͛͂͐͆͗̆͋͛̉̓̾́̐̈́̓͘͝I̵̞͓͕̹̟̗̫̰͕̹͎͈͍̔͒͒͛̓̂̊̃̈́̀͒͑̏́͌͂̕͝I̵̫̘̹̖̤͎͈̺̙̳̦̼̮̦͈͂̆̏̋̑͑̊̏̆̏̕Ì̴̲̹̠̭̯̯̞̉̕Ḭ̴̡̡̖̯̘̝̼͕̥͉͎̺͈̪̗̣͔͈̃̄́͗̑̆̊̃̉̈́̽̓̇͗̿̉̚͜͠I̸̢͖̮̳̺̠̘͓͎̳̮̘͖͇͓̣̮̤͈̲̍͆̊̑͒̅͜͝Ḯ̶̻͖͔̼̰̝͖̄̅̈́̓̂͑͆̐͛͋̾̇̊̿͒͐̍̈́̚͘͜͝I̵̢̛̛̦̹̯̣̱̗̤̥̮̲͍̙͕͖̬̬̪̙̜̗̬̬̼͌̈́̆̿̇͑́̂̊̊͊̽͒̄͋̍͘̚͝I̸̺̲͔̼̝̥̊̒̄̂̑͆͆͌I̷̛̟̝̗̩̯̱̳̰͕̯͉͗̀̇̽̆̄̿́͒̀̃̈̚ͅͅĪ̴͓͎̗̖̰̥̬̉͗̓͐̇́̓͋̉͋̈́̍̿͆̿͘͠͝İ̴̛͎͓͌͋͐̓̑̓̐̀̀̂̈͘͝I̴̧̧̡͇͚̭̳̤̣̖͓̹̺̻̠̭̠̙͓̪͐̀̇̃͜͜͠Ȉ̷̟̯͇̘̫̲̙͛̒̌̿͐̃͐̑̽Ḭ̴̡̡̢̺̪̤̞͙͓̙̦̹͈̻̟̺̍̔͛̃̀͛̔̈͋̇̅̾͘͜͜͝͝ͅI̸̧̢̢͈̥͇͚̩̬͚̝̮͕͔̰̊́́̓̓̉͝ͅI̷̧̨̨̟͓̣̲͙̫̺̹̤̔́̂I̸̧̨͎̫̮̼̥͍̣̣͈̜̤̳̩̹̮̪̬̎̅͆̔̔̌͋̑̚͘I̷̢̨̛͔͔̼̤̰̖̝̹̟̟̟͍̤͚̗̞͎͇̟̤̊͗̂͆͛̍̓̑̊̓̀͜͜I̷̡̛̛̼͍̠̣͚͖͇͎̭̟͔͍̍̈̈̓̊̎̃̈́̆̀̐̇̉̾͐̊̅͝ͅI̷̩̩̞̟͕̦͂͐̒̉̿́̑̄̒͑͑̎̐͘͝͠I̴̧̖͎̼̖̱̖̘͈̯̖̰͙͂̑́̽́́͋̉̅͌͛̀͗̄̕͘̚̚̕͜͝͠I̵̧͍͍̬̩͎̬̟͍̼̩̞͔͂͑̈́̑̇͋͋̀̋̕͝͠I̴̡̡̨̫̗͕̳̼̲̖̲͖̍͂̉͊͑͋̒́̈́̄̊͂͑̈́̾͑̅͆͛͜͜͠͠͝͝I̷̟̙͇͆͜͜I̴͔̼̹̞͔͈̖͒̍̆͑Į̷̨̧̛͇̼͉̤̯̟̭̰̞̙͈̜͕̇͛͋̈́͑̀̒̿̓̅̕̕̚͝͝ͅḬ̵̡͚̤͙̩̦͔̹̟̤͈̜̎̐͊̃͂͂̒̔͒̂͑̈́̃̐͛̎̌͋̕̚͝I̴̛͖̭̮̥̭̽̃́̈́̿͆̈͋̀̈́́͋̀̾͛̓̑̈́͘͝͝͝I̶̛̝̔́̈̌̓̓̒̂̉̃̐̈͂̀́̆̀̚͘̚̕Į̵̢̢̗͉͇̻̼̖̘͍̩͐̃̀̔̔̅̌͋́̂͠͠Ỉ̸̧͔̱͙̙̪͖̦̬̖̤͙͉̖̮͇̫͔̠͎̀̓͗̽̽̌̈́̒̇̈̀͑̉̽͊̍͘̚̕̚͜͜Ȉ̷̲̭̩̪͚̺̞͐̔̂̃́͋͑̆́̈́̎̑̒̓̊̉̕͝͠I̷̢̭̪̳͍̫̮͖͈͚̰̪̰͛̾̈́́̾̈́̆́̃̒̽̏͆͂̓̓̕͘͘͝Ĩ̸̡̢̛̛̩̰͕͎͕̖͔͎̹̞̣̞͍̤̄͂̾͑͋̂̆͗̈̀̐̄̽̇̄̿̿͐̚͠Ḯ̵̧̛͖̆̈̃͛̊͑͑̅̓͌̂̚̚̕I̷̢̨̛̳̠͚̱̦̰̦̯͛̅͑̆̌̌̒͋̋̈́̅̓̄́͜͝͝ͅI̶̥̘̖͉̱̽̈́̇̑͛̓̉̓̈́͒̈̂͂̈̅̉̇͝͠Ị̶̱̹̔̈́̏̈́̅̊̏͘̚Ì̷̢̛̛̱̰͔̱̥̲̻̝͙̠̹̺̩̗͙̰͎͍̊̽͋̿͑͆̌̑͑̄̔̑͆̕ͅI̸̧̙͕̤͇̣͍͍͈̭͚̖̲̣̱̝̘̜̭̳̦͉͛̑̆̄͂͗̍͋̃̉̾̾̌̈́̔̇̋̅̎͆̇͘͜͜͠͝I̴̩̼̤̦̞̙̙̹̟͉̮͓̱͓͛́̄Ḯ̵̛̝̣̠̦̻͒̏̽́̉̃͂́̒́̅͂̓͐̔͌̈́̈͘͝͝I̷̛̥̲̫͔̫͇̼̹̥̠̫̩̹̻̹͚̬̩͆̀̊̿̒̅͑̈̒͑̎̉̓̀̓̏̐͒̚͜͝͝͝͝Ỉ̵̢̠̘͈̭̭͖̪̗̗͆̚͝I̶̥̘̳̙̘͖͓͖̬̗̻̮͈͑͂̏͌Ȋ̸̢̨̮͖̹̮̦̰̮̞̼̣͔̀̀̑̒̑̓́͌́͌̈̀͐͘I̷̡̧̻̤̞͕̳̠͇̙͖̻̩̝͎̘̲̯̩͉̺̻̔̿͛̂̇͊̇̐̔̕͜ͅI̴̧̧̧̨̢͉̤̝͚̥̘̼͓͉̜͚̘̭̟͊̋̕I̴͕͍̹̰͉̱͇̿̆͌̔̒̂Ȉ̷̧̡̹̳͇̖̊̃̓̽̑̕͝͠Ḯ̸̩̺̼̫͕͇̺̙̙̻͓̻̩̘͙͕̒̑̌̉İ̶̪̮͆̀͊̉͂̂͗͑͂́́̀͊͑̏́̿͜͜͠͝Ì̷̡̤̝͖̟̘̹̻̙̪̣͉̱͇̘̭̥͔̊̈͐̋̓̈́͋́̐̋̋͗̑̄̔̑̂̃̕ͅͅḬ̵̡̨͎̺̱̖͔̰̻̼͉̤̪̝̉̌̊̈̔̃͗̽̋̓͛̌̈́̉̚͜͠Ì̶̡̡̨̦̖̝̝̺̜͈̠͙̩̦̞͇͙̳́̿̏̎̀̿̂͆ͅͅI̴̡͈͔͈̥̬̠̲͇͋͌̉̽̂̋̔̒̈́͋̊̓̿̈́̏͝Ḯ̴̡̨̧͈̪̤̦̳̫̰͖͙̞͇̲̦͈͂͜I̴͉̝̲̦̭͚͎̹̮͖͈̜̞͙̖͗̍̊͗̃͛̀̍͊̑̀̒̀̊̎̕̕͝I̴̛̩̥̎͐̿̿̈͑̒̿͊͗̂̿͋͂̎̈̅̋͝I̸̧̙͍͙̜͉̘̫̳̘͕͎̺͚̗̱̫̠̹̥͂̃́̈́̋̑͂̆̈́͛̓̌̀̅͠ͅͅÎ̷̛̭̥̜͙͚̠̲͍͇̮̟͍̥̺̥̏̏̅͌̒̐́͌̚̚ͅͅI̵̢̺̳͍̯̠̗̼̜̮͇͂́͋̍̿̐͊̓͐̈́̑́͋̈́̕͘͝I̷̧̩̳͇̹̯̮͈͕͕̽͒̈́̈́̽̔͑͐̃̍̊̈́͂̈́͘͝Ȋ̶̧͙͙̠̝͔̩̘̰͕̳̹͕̆̈̌̈́̀̅́͗̈́̓͗̔͒͗̓͑͒̕͘͝Ȋ̶̢̟̲̖͈͖̝͕̥̦P̶͔̰̞͕̠͎̘̰͚̀̏͑̚
09131985
02211986
08061986